1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a regional access control method for User Equipments (UEs) in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a regional access control method for immobile UEs that perform Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, M2M communication refers to communication between electronic devices. In a grander scheme, M2M communication includes wired or wireless communication between electronic devices, and communication between a device and a machine controlled by a person. Recently, M2M communication has been used to indicate communication between electronic devices, specifically, wireless communication between devices. M2M communication may also be referred to as machine type communication.
In the early 1990s, when M2M communication was first introduced, M2M communication was merely understood as a technology associated with remote control or telematics, and the market derived from this technology was significantly limited. However, M2M communication has developed significantly over the past few years, and has drawn attention from the global market, in addition to the Korean market. M2M technology can be utilized for various purposes, in conjunction with conventional mobile communication technology, wireless high-speed Internet technology, and low-power wireless communication solutions, such as, for example, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), ZigBee, and the like. The main application fields of M2M technology may include vehicle telematics, logistics management, intelligent meter reading systems, remote asset management systems, sales management systems, such as a Point Of Service (POS) system, and security fields.
Research on M2M technology in conjunction with a mobile communication system has been actively conducted. Although a conventional mobile communication system considers mobility of a terminal as an important issue, M2M communication may use terminals that are nearly immobile and are used in a predetermined location. Accordingly, the mobile communication system may only need a simple mobility management method for the nearly immobile terminals.
To reduce network management costs through use of the simple mobility management method, a new regional access control method is needed for a terminal. A conventional method for controlling network access for a terminal based on a region may use an attach accept message, a Tracking Area Update (TAU) accept message, and a handover restriction list included in a handover request message.
When the method is applied to M2M communication, information associated with all regions excluding an allowed region, such as a tracking area or cell, may need to be added to a restriction list, so as to enable an immobile terminal to access a network within a predetermined region. Accordingly, it may be considered inconvenient for a terminal that is nearly immobile to add most regions in the restriction list.